Safety lock for looms



Nov. 28, 1961' c. A. WHEELER SAFETY LOCK FOR LOOMS Filed Dec. 11, 1959 I a I:

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,010,481 SAFETY LOCK FOR LOOMS Claude A. Wheeler, Saundersville, Mass., assignpr t0 Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corporation of Maine Filed Dec. 11, 1959, Ser. No. 859,007 2 Claims. (Cl. 139-1) This invention relates to looms for weaving and, particularly, to a safety lock for the shipper lever.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a safety device effective to prevent a loomfrom being started at certain times, such as when the loom is being repaired, thereby avoiding possible serious damage to parts thereof, to personnel or the changing of a desired setting.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a safety device which is attached to the shipper lever of a loom and which is interlocked with a fixed member to prevent engagement of the clutch and release of the brake of the loom motor by the usual linkage between the motor and shipper lever.

It is a further object to provide a safety lock which forms an integral part of the handle portion of the shipper lever so that it is movable therewith, and further which has a slidable spring-biased member which is selectively movable into or out of engagement with a fixed part of the loom, thereby to permit the locking of the shipper lever and to prevent putting the loom into operation.

Looms for weaving are normally equipped with a power transmission unit which includes a clutch and brake mechanism connected by a linkage system to a shipper lever which is pivotally mounted so that it may be manually moved in one direction to engage the clutch and disengage the brake thereby to put the loom into operation, and in the opposite direction to do just the reverse. It is sometimes necessary, of course, to stop operation of the loom to make repairs or adjustments and in certain such instances where these have not been completed, starting up of the loom could result in very serious damage or breakage of parts or upsetting the timed sequence of operation of the various members making resetting thereof diflicult and time-consuming.

In order toavoid these undesirable consequences, the present invention provides a safety lock which, when it is engaged, is a signal to the operator that the loom is not to be put into operation. The lock comprises a two position slidable member supportably mounted on the shipper lever handle and which may be engaged with any fixed cooperating member to prevent actuation of the lever.

Additional objects and advantages will be apparent from the description to follow.

The invention will be described in detail by reference to a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying figures of drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an end elevation of a portion of a loom to which the invention has been applied;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation on enlarged scale of the mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of the left hand portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial section on enlarged scale taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a view showing part of the mechanism of FIG. 3 with the safety lock in the engaged position.

In the drawings the invention is shown as applied to the shuttleless loom manufactured by the Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Massachusetts, and disclosed insofar as here pertinent in United States Patent No. 2,8 016, and to which reference may be had for a more complete disclosure of the loom control mechanism 11- lustrated only partially herein. It is to be understood, however, that the safety lock to be described has application in the conventional fly shuttle loom also, as well as in any loom employing a pivoted shipper lever movable between an operative and inoperative position. A portion of the right hand loomside is shown at 10. A shipper lever, generally indicated by the arrow 11, is mounted to pivot on the loomside 12, and includes a hub portion 13 having an extension 14 leading upwardly therefrom to which is fixed a shipper handle 15 having a knob 16 to facilitate gripping thereof. An arm 17 extends in a downward direction from the hub 13 and is pivotally connected at its lower end to a linkage 18 which controls operation of a motor (not shown), which is preferably of the type in which a motor, clutch and brake are combined as a unit. Operation of the loom is effected by engaging the clutch and disengaging the brake simultaneously through a common linkage system, while the reverse stops the loom. The corresponding positions of the shipper handle are illustrated, respectively, in FIGS. 1 and 5. When the shipper handle is placed in a position intermediate the two, both the brake and the clutch are disengaged to permit manual operation of the loom. Such a power transmission unit is disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,650,995 and the linkage system in Patent No. 2,884,016. As disclosed in the latter patent the intermediate position is easily located by abutment of the shipper handle with a roller 19 mounted on the end of an arm 20 pivoted at 21 from a hub 22. The latter has a second arm 23 fixed thereto having a knob 24 at its end which is operable to position the roller. The pivot 21 is supported from a bracket 25 attached to the loom framework. The dotted line position of the roller in FIG. 3 thus permits both the clutch and brake to be disengaged for manual operation of the loom while the solid line position permits disengagement of the clutch and engagement of the brake.

In order to guard against the loom being started sud denly a safety lock 26 has been provided, and comprising a supporting bracket 27 which may form an integral part of the extension 14 at the base of the shipper handle. A short rod 28 is slidably contained within the bracket and has a collar 29 fixed inwardly of one end thereof and outwardly extending arm 30 at the opposite end. A slot 31 is provided in the bracket partially along the length thereof for reception of the arm during a locked or active position and grooves 32 are formed in the end of the bracket either of which serves to receive the arm in an unlocked or inactive position. A spring 33 acts between the collar and bracket to bias the rod toward the locked position. A vertically extending flange 34 serves as a cooperating member with the rod 28 to prevent actuation of the shipper lever when the parts are in the dotted line position of FIGS. 2 or 4.

While the invention has been described as being applied to one of the shipper levers of the loom, it is apparent that if so desired, it may be applied to the levers on both ends thereof.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In combination in a loom for weaving, a loomside having a flange, a shipper lever pivotally mounted to said loomside, a motor control link member connected to said shipper lever, and a safety lock for said shipper which comprises a supporting member attached to said lever, and a spring-biased rod slidably mounted in said supporting 5 member and adapted to be movable selectively into and out of locking engagement with said flange to prevent actuation of said shipper lever. V

2. Mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein further biased rod in active and inactive positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Osgood et a1 Dec. 12, 1911 Rogers June 16, 1931 Kohler July 15, 194-1 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Apr. 5, 1910 Great Britain May 13- 1926 

